What do the ul marks on so many products mean?

UL stands for 'underwriters laboratories,' a safety testing organization -- but what exactly does this group do, and why do they do it? Tune in and learn more about the UL mark in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to brain Stuff from house stuff works dot com,
where smart happens Him Marshall Brain with today's question, what
do the UL marks on so many products mean? U
L stands for Underwriter's Laboratories, an organization that has been
around for more than a hundred years. If you visit

(00:21):
the u L site at UL dot com, you can
find the following description. U L is a world leader
in product safety testing and certification. For more than one
hundred years, manufacturers have had their merchandise evaluated and tested
for safety risks by our independent third party safety certification organization.

(00:43):
Last year alone, approximately fourteen billion products with the u
L mark entered the global marketplace. A good summer used
by u L is a not for profit organization dedicated
to public safety. You all set standards for different auduct
categories and test products to make sure they meet the standards.

(01:04):
U L may also certify the installation of products in
the field. Underwriters, by the way, are insured. Do you
have any ideas or suggestions for this podcast? If so,
please send me an email at podcast at how stuff
works dot com. For more on this and thousands of
other topics, go to how stuff works dot com.